We’ve Done Our Calculation Well, Tinubu Won’t Be On Ballot If There’s A Rerun, Labour Party Claims
The Obi-Datti Campaign Organisation has stated that with the damning evidence before the Presidential Election Petition Court (PREPEC) against President Bola Tinubu, he would not participate in the rerun election should the poll be annulled.
President Tinubu had last Tuesday appealed to the justices of the PREPEC to exclude the presidential candidate of the LP, Peter Obi, and his party in the event of any rerun presidential election, claiming that only he and the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, are constitutionally qualified to recontest the rerun election.
Tinubu, through his lawyer, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), and the counsel to the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), had argued that should the justices of the court void the February 25, 2023, presidential election, Obi and his party should not be allowed to re-contest.
Olanipekun had while arguing his final written address, declared that Obi should not be allowed to participate in the rerun election because he came third in the race.
However, the Labour Party branded Tinubu’s lawyers’ stance as an effort to impose his view on the justices. The campaign believes that based on evidence, Tinubu wouldn’t be a contender in a rerun.
Speaking during an interview with ThisDay, Diran Onifade, the spokesperson and Head of Media of the organisation, opined that Tinubu’s moves, especially the push to exclude Obi and his challenges to the election outcome in Kano signalled his loss of votes in states like Rivers and Benue.
He said, “If there will be a second election, it will be between the top two. Tinubu will not be among the top two because all the issues we raised are enough to disqualify him. The certificate forgery, the drug trafficking forfeiture, the invalid nomination of his vice, etc. All those things would have disqualified him in the first place”.
Speaking on the claim that Obi came third, Onifade said, “So, if there is going to be another election, their man would have been disqualified.
“We talked about the figure we put together from Rivers State and Benue State. He didn’t even address those at all. When you remove what they stole in Rivers and Benue states and you add to Obi’s, their own figures would have gone down and Obi won’t be in the third position again.”
The Labour Party is seeking to nullify the election results, arguing that President Tinubu was not the valid winner.
They also question Tinubu’s eligibility due to allegations of previous indictments and his running mate’s nomination for another position.
The Petitioners also challenge the election’s validity due to alleged corrupt practices and non-compliance with the Electoral Act.
They demand either a declaration of Obi as the election’s winner, or an order for a fresh election excluding Tinubu, Shettima, and the APC.
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